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Build Hybrid Battery Maintenance Gear For Under $100

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by PriusCamper, Mar 25, 2021.

  1. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Hey DIYers,

    Both myself, @alftoy and @fach are working on a project to find all the best places to buy components to build a grid charger and discharger for less than a $100 and using the most documented way as seen on both Prius Chat and Insight Central.

    Might even ultimately design something that's better than what Maxx Volts and Prolong offer. I know I'd love to have bluetooth connectivity so I can control everything while I'm sitting in front of my computer.

    Because @altfoy is in Canada he's having hassles with getting parts shipped. The rest of us haven't started purchasing yet, but will be in coming days.

    So for those of you who are talented at finding low prices and fast shipping, we'd love your help. And for those of you who think we're going to get ourselves killed and aren't safe even talking about such things, I probably already hit the ignore button on you so I don't have to see any of your usual comments.

    So to get the discussion started here's a message Altfoy sent to me recently:

     
    #1 PriusCamper, Mar 25, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2021
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Here's a good video to give you a sense of what we're doing:

     
  3. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Many many links to DIY chargers for under $100, latest and best is the build from Olrowdy, quite detailed, and very good explanation.
    V2-grid-charger-discharger MOD

    Excellent step by step build of Olrowdys build by MparkH
    OlRowdy01 V2 Grid Charger Build (Illustrated) | Honda Insight Forum

    NOTE
    this plan is for a Honda Insight, changes to make it suitable for Prius G2 2004-2009.....
    Also suitable for the 2010-2015 G3 Prius, same substitutions as noted.

    substitute for the Meanwell 60H, 3 x Meanwell APC-35-350 the Youtube video above shows 2
    3 x Meanwell APC-35-350 outputs 300vdc, OR
    use a single Meanwell HLG 80H-350A substitute for Olrowdy's 60H, outputs 257vdc,
    similar to HA Prolong version for G2, G3 Prius outputs 250vdc

    APC-35-350 MEAN WELL USA Inc. | Power Supplies - External/Internal (Off-Board) | DigiKey

    HLG-80H-C350A MEAN WELL USA Inc. | Power Supplies - External/Internal (Off-Board) | DigiKey
    OR Meanwell LPC-100-350
    LPC-100-350 MEAN WELL USA Inc. | Power Supplies - External/Internal (Off-Board) | DigiKey

    Substitute 300VDC 4 bit meter for the 200VDC meter, hard to find 300VDC 4 bit, best I could find was 500vdc
    GWUNW BY42A 500V 10A DC 4 BIT Digital Voltage Ammeter Current Tester Meter Voltmeter Dual Display Red Blue Green LED|display meter|digital meterdisplay voltage meter - AliExpress

    Another 300vdc meter suggested by PriusCamper, does not require a power supply
    DC digital voltmeter 300V/100A ammeter voltage Mobile APP meter car battery capacity volt current detector power supply tester|Voltage Meters| - AliExpress

    Power supply to drive Prius HV battery fan and charger case fan, requires 6 amp
    RS-75-12 MEAN WELL USA Inc. | Power Supplies - External/Internal (Off-Board) | DigiKey

    Revised Olrowdy schematic for Prius attached.
     

    Attached Files:

    #3 alftoy, Mar 26, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2021
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  4. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    Hi alftoy, What about the LPC-100-350? It was documented here.
     
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  5. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Don't see why not.
    Charging traction battery with led driver | PriusChat

    Another on a Honda Insight, definitely suitable as is for Gen 2, 3 Prius, cheap absolute bare bones basic setup that works. I would be careful no one else is around the Meanwell output plug or shut the power bar off before unplugging.

    Suggest a 100k ohm resistor and 1N4007 diode on the output of the Meanwell so the HV battery doesn't back feed into the Meanwell when uplugging or shutting power to Meanwell. Need 2 light bulbs in series or the single bulb will blow on Prius setup. Also need the power supply for the Prius HV fan Meanwell RS-75-12, 6 amp.

    If you can install the HA Prolong charger you can assemble this DiY charger, just need to screw the wires on the terminals of the plugs and receptacle.

    HCH1 DIY IMA Reconditioning - GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars
     

    Attached Files:

    #5 alftoy, Mar 26, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2021
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  6. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    I am thinking of the Olrowdys setup, but with the LPC-100-350 instead of that HLG-60H-C350A. I will ask my cousin if the change of the meanwell can affect the setup. I am the muscle guy, and he is the kind of brain.
     
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  7. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Should be OK. If you use the LPC-100-350, will have to use the 500vdc meter, instead of 300.

    For my revised schematic suitable for G2 Prius attached, sub the LPC-100-350 instead of the 80H.

    Depends which plan you use to build it. Regardless if you leave diode 1N4007 out there is a chance that you could damage the Mean Well if you turn it OFF while still connected to the battery.
     

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    #7 alftoy, Mar 26, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2021
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  8. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    Alftoy, the 2a 300vdc ceramic fuse is part of the Prius battery? Or need to be purchased?
     
  9. ozmatt

    ozmatt Active Member

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    I have been using lpc 100-350 for many years, works well however ocassionally it goes into a strange pattern of cycling on/off every second or so depending on what soc the pack is at, has anyone else noticed this?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  10. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    I am on the green stage. I am building my order in Digikey at this moment.
     
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  11. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Needs to be purchased. As a safety feature install a fuse on the positive high voltage lead when you install the charging harness for the HV Prius Battery. The 2 amp fuse should be rated for 250 volts DC. A DC fuse is designed to quench any arcing if the fuse blows to prevent it from starting a fire inside your car! A DC fuse can generally be identified by the white ceramic looking body between the metal end caps.
     
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  12. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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  13. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    Nice! Yesterday, I took care of the aliexpress part.
     
  14. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Should have mentioned to use Aliexpress shipping for that seller.. I ordered and chose Epacket and after 2 weeks they hadn't shipped so I PM the seller and he says that Epacket was shut down and that he was helpless, never bothered to PM, so had to cancel order and reorder using Aliexpress shipping.
     
  15. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    I ordered everything from Digikey. I think the aliexpress is going to be the holding project
     
  16. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Harness fuse on Prolong site.
     

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    #16 alftoy, Mar 27, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2021
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  17. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    DIY Grid Reconditioning Charger | Page 3 | PriusChat

    Looking at the specification of the LED driver used by @Abarnabe, I found that the constant current mode is valid only when its output voltage is between 128V and 257V. When the output voltage drops below 128V, the driver enters a "Hiccup Protection" mode, turning on / off automatically until the voltage catches up. Has anyone observed their charger behaves weirdly at the early stage of charging after the battery is deeply discharged?
     
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  18. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    A little updated information about this project: Today, I received most of the parts from Digikey. I follow the instructions from the schematics that @alftoy posted. This prototype is to verify the wiring and connections. I am still waiting for the voltmeter from aliexpress, and I will work on the connection to the hybrid battery and battery fan. After that, I will install all this in a nice box.
     

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  19. ozmatt

    ozmatt Active Member

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    I notice the hiccup mode you are speaking about when below 128v, its a bit different to the pulsing that can happen anywhere after 128v right up to 250+ .. one thing tends to smooth this out is a small constant voltage supply in series which i often use to get me up to 300v when charging camry packs.

    seems to be worse with packs that have more bad modules in them, its definitely more noticeable on cores than fresh rebuilds!
     
  20. fach

    fach Junior Member

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    Ozmatt, do you have schematics of this part? I will like to add that. Thank you!